Ghostwalker 09 - Ruthless Game

afraid the silence was the lul before the storm.
    A man caught her around the waist and hauled her into the helicopter, dragging her deeper inside, not letting go until she was steady. Barely glancing at him, she unstrapped the baby as fast as possible, looking around for the safest, most protected place she could find. She used the vest to construct a barrier around him. She was quick, her movements efficient as she turned back, pul ing her automatic rifle back around her neck to the front by the strap, and stepping to the entrance to provide cover for Kane.
    “Ten o’clock, your side, Gideon,” someone barked.
    Gideon fired without hesitation, the shot ringing out in the night. “He’s down, Top. We’re ready.”
    Her stomach tightened. Every one was going to be shooting at Kane. These men and she would have to keep the shooters off him. She put the rifle to her shoulder and looked into the night scope. Only seconds had gone by, but it seemed an eternity.
    Climb fast, Kane. She tried not to al ow her fear for him to show in her mind. We’re waiting for you.
    Just waiting for Top to give me the okay, sweetheart. I’ll be right there.
    His voice was steady, but she knew it would be. Very little seemed to shake the man.
    Has to be easier than delivering a baby, right? he teased, laughter in his voice.
    The knots in her stomach tightened with dread. Her mouth went dry. She was rock steady in combat as a rule, nothing fazed her, but deep inside she felt jittery.
    Damn straight.
    Coming up now, honey. Top just gave me the word.
    She glanced down, although she knew she shouldn’t, to see Kane leap up, gripping the rope. She’d never seen a man climb so fast. Hand over hand, he went straight up as the backwash from the helicopter’s blade blew the rope into a whirling frenzy, not nearly as bad as with her lighter weight. His strength was beyond her comprehension, and she had to force herself to stare into the scope to protect him.
    He was more than halfway to the helicopter when two of them with her began shooting rapidly. She spotted a soldier lifting his rifle, and she took the shot, seeing him go down. A vol ey of shots rang out, and the helicopter jerked.
    She gasped and looked down. Kane was right at the entrance, reaching with one hand to pul himself inside. She never actual y heard the bul et tear into him, but she saw his body rock back, away from the helicopter, and she flung herself forward and with both hands caught his wrist.
    Don’t you let go of that rope! Rose put every ounce of command she had into her voice.
    There was blood everywhere, al over him. He was too heavy, much too heavy, and she had no time. One of the men beside her leaned out with her and caught him under his arms.
    “Fucking shoot that bastard,” came a command behind her.
    “On it, Top,” two voices said simultaneously.
    Kane was unconscious, but when the bul et hit, instinct had him clutching the rope, his only lifeline, with his remaining hand. They had to pry it out of his closed hand. Before the sniper could shoot a second time, at least two men behind her fired over her head.
    She didn’t have time to identify the man beside her who was keeping Kane from fal ing to his death. “Get him in. Get him in. We don’t have any time.
    Set up for a transfusion. Move. Move. I need a medical kit. Open one fast, get out the iodine.”
    She put every ounce of strength she had into helping the man beside her haul Kane’s dead weight into the helicopter. She dragged him inside and laid him out, scrambling to kneel beside him, her knife out. She cut away his clothes, exposing his bel y. The bul et had torn into his abdomen and ricocheted through his chest.
    “Get a needle into him before his veins col apse,” she snapped, not looking at the grim-faced men surrounding her. Her entire being was focused on saving Kane—and she only had minutes. Her palms burned, scorching, unbearably hot.
    “Iodine. Hurry, pour it over his bel y and my hands and knife.” She held them out, and even as they poured, she cut into Kane’s flesh.
    Someone—again, she didn’t know or care who—crowded tight against her back and placed a blade firmly against her neck, a threat one shouldn’t ignore, but she did. If the bastard wanted to kil her, so be it, but she wasn’t going to take even precious seconds to try to make him understand. There was no way to explain how she had known the moment she laid her hands on Kane that the artery was severed